The calm before the storm
HAVING decided to shut its nuclear power plants over the coming decade, Germany?s big idea for keeping the lights on is the Energiewende, or energy transition, a state-backed drive towards renewable energy. One of its most ambitious elements is to build 14 gigawatts (GW) of wind turbines off the North Sea and Baltic coasts by 2023, to provide about 9% of the country?s electricity needs by then. In the North Sea eight huge platforms will also be built, each seven ... Quick Read

Disabled veterans often find the return to civilian life difficult, especially when seeking jobs. Now, a university program thinks it has the key to their independence: turn them into entrepreneurs.
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Are you wondering about how useful an ewallet would be to you when shopping online? If so, this article discusses just that topic. There are five reasons why you should consider using an electronic wallet next time you're shopping online, including security, efficiency and more. Keep reading to learn more. ... Quick Read

On Monday, the Oregon Senate unanimously passed a bill already passed by the Oregon House that creates a study committee to develop a pilot program for making Oregon public higher education tuition-free (I, II). From The Wall Street Journal:
Oregon's legisla ... Quick Read

The Obama Administration?s decision to delay for a year the penalty that employers (in firms of 50 or more employees) must pay if they don?t provide health insurance to their workers shines a light on a problem that may be even more profound than getting health coverage for every American: that is, the decline of the American job.
The employer mandate was designed for an economy in which American workers were employed in what had been normal jobs. In firms of 50 or more, all workers who put in ... Quick Read

Today is the 150th anniversary of the final day of the Battle of ?Gettysburg, and with that in mind, it?s worth remembering the particular actions of Confederate soldiers a week earlier, as they marched north into Pennsylvania.
In the movement that culminated in Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee?s men kidnapped free blacks by the hundreds?men, women, and children. Up to a thousand were captured and forced into labor with the Confederate Army. And during the eventual retreat from Pennsylvania, they ... Quick Read

Supposedly, people in the White House are told when they start working there that you shouldn't put anything down on paper or email that you wouldn't like to see on the front page of The Washington Post. Not only are lots of documents subject to open records laws, they can be subpoenaed by Congress or a court, or much more likely, just get leaked by one of your co-workers. So you'd think White House staff would exercise some care when it comes to memo writing.
Alas, they apparently do not. The ... Quick Read